Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2007-08: Ryan Murray was chosen in the first round, 9th overall, of the 2008 WHL Bantam Draft by the Everett Silvertips.

2008-09: Murray spent most of the season with the Moose Jaw Warriors of the SJHL. In 41 games, Murray scored 12 goals and added 26 assists for 38 points. In 5 playoff games, Murray scored 1 goal and added 6 assists for 7 points. Murray received his first taste of WHL actions, playing in 5 playoff games for the Silvertips. He registered 1 assist in those games.

2009-10: In his WHL rookie season, Murray played in 52 games for the Silvertips. He scored 5 goals and added 22 assists for 27 points. In 7 playoff games, he scored 2 goals and added 5 assists for 7 points. Murray played for Team Western at the 2010 U-17 Hockey Challenge, registering 1 assist in 5 games. Murray also played for Canada at the 2010 U-18 World Junior Championship, picking up no points in 6 games. He was named a Top 3 player on his team for that tournament.

2010-11: Murray played in 70 games for the Silvertips, scoring 6 goals and adding 40 assists for 46 points while also adding 45 penalty minutes. In 4 playoff games, Murray scored 1 goal and added 2 assists for 3 points. Murray was named to the WHL Western Conference All-Star Team. Murray played for Canada at the 2011 U-18 World Junior Championship, scoring 3 goals and adding 7 assists for 10 points in 7 games.

2011-12: Murray was named a team captain for the Silvertips as an 18-year-old and also represented Canada at the 2012 U20 World Junior Championship. Limited at the beginning of the season due to an ankle injury, he skated in 46 regular season games. Murray finished with an even plus-minus and scored 9 goals with 22 assists and 31 PMs on an Everett team that won just 22 games. Murray was the Everett's leading scorer in the four-game playoff series with Tri-City, scoring 3 goals, including a short-handed tally, and adding 2 assists while finishing minus-2. He skated in all six games during Canada's bronze medal run at the U20 WJC and had 3 assists. Following the season he was one of two junior players invited to the camp for Team Canada prior to the 2012 IIHF World Championship. Murray was ranked 2nd among North American skaters in the final Central Scouting rankings prior to the 2012 NHL Draft.

2012-13: Murray's season was cut short by a season-ending shoulder injury in November that required surgery. The injury prevented him from skating for Canada in the 2013 World Junior Championship and from making a possible NHL debut with the Blue Jackets after the lockout. In his fourth WHL season he scored 2 goals with 15 assists in 23 games for Everett and had an even plus/minus with 14 penalty minutes.

Talent Analysis

The most NHL-ready player of the 2012 draft class, Murray is a talented defenseman with few holes in his game. He already has good command in the defensive zone, and can contribute offensively with both good passing skills and a hard, accurate shot. Murray is quite poised for his young age, and has the look of a future NHL captain. He should help anchor a top defensive pairing in the NHL for years to come.

Future

Murray has already developed into a solid NHL defender, and should only get better as he matures.

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Photo: The Columbus Blue Jackets didn't have a first round pick at the 2011 NHL Draft, so second rounder Boone Jenner was the team's top pick at last year's draft (courtesy of Aaron Bell/OHL Images)

The Columbus Blue Jackets had one of their most disappointing seasons in recent history, and with the likely departure of Rick Nash, the 2012 NHL Draft could to mark a turning point in the franchise's history. Though they missed out on winning the draft lottery, they should still come away with a top prospect with the second-overall selection.

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Photo: The NHL Combine has long been an important event leading up to the Draft. This year it was particularly important as many of the top eligible prospects had their seasons cut short by injury. (Ken McKenna/HF)

Last week, the National Hockey League engaged in its annual ritual of interviewing, testing, and examining the top players eligible for the 2012 Entry Draft. The 105 prospects that attended the Combine were poked, prodded and questioned, as well as given psychological tests. The difference this year is that there were many more second-year eligible prospects in attendance, and maybe more importantly, many draft eligible prospects had endured injury shortened seasons, which resulted in different concerns on the part of the NHL teams.